Former president, Olusegun obasanjo, on Thursday said countries across the african continent are happy over the outcome of the presidential election in Nigeria, which saw the defeat of incumbent president Goodluck jonathan.

Mr. obasanjo said his checks in a number of african countries suggested they were as happy over the result of the election as majority of Nigerians are.

He referred to president Goodluck jonathan as a moving train who was providentially stopped from collapsing Nigeria.“I have visited six countries since the election, they are as happy about the results as we are in Nigeria. It is good not only for Nigeria, it is good for Africa and I believe it is good for the world.”

Mr. obasanjo, who led the african Union Observation Mission to the April 2015 General Election in Sudan, spoke on Thursday at a Washington DC event.

The former president described Nigeria as a country that obsessively plays “a dangerous game of moving close to the precipice”.

He said the country came close to disintegration in the run-up to the 2015 elections but switched swiftly to the path of redemption after the polls.

“I hope we will not fall over one of these days,” he said.

He said one month to the election, no one believed “we will have a peaceful election that is reasonably free and fair.”

Describing his role in the election as that of a person standing on the track of a moving train, the former president said during the countdown to the elections, he faced the option of “jumping off” the tracks or “be crushed” if the train did not providentially get “derailed and stop.”

He said he did not jump and was not crushed adding that “at every stage, there must be leaders imbued with sufficient courage and will to stand firm when you have to stand firm.”

He described the results of the elections as what Nigerians “deserve” though some Nigerians “did not want it”.

Mr. obasanjo was the featured speaker at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) event titled What is Right with Africa: Reframing Africa’s Leadership Challenges.

He made these remarks in response to a question by Princeton Lyman, a former ambassador to Nigeria.

Mr. obasanjo observed that Nigeria’s tendency to flirt with near-death experiences stretches back to colonial times when it almost cost the country the chance of gaining political independence from Britain.

Recalling colonial-era disagreements over self-rule, the former president said at a stage, advocates of self-rule from the Eastern and Western Regions decided to “let the North go” since their leaders were reluctant to accept regional autonomy back then.

“But reason prevailed,” he said, “East and West got internal autonomy in 1957, North got same in 1959 and the whole country got independence in 1960.”

Listing the 1964 post-election violence in the south west and the 1966 coup d’etats which led to “pogrom and civil war” as other self-destructive phases in the country’s history, the former president remarked that Nigeria emerged from all of these as “one entity” in spite of contrarian speculations.

“Not only did we survive the civil war but, within nine years, somebody from the rebel side, as we called them, and somebody from the vandal side, as they called us, became president and vice-president of Nigeria. Not many countries achieve that,” he said.

president obasanjo described the 2015 election as “almost in the same category” as other near-death experiences in Nigeria’s history.

He said one month to the election, no one believed “we will have a peaceful election that is reasonably free and fair.”

“I think we are now building institutions that can withstand what we may see as danger to good governance in Africa. The election has moved Nigeria one very important step up in our democratic dispensation, process and practice.”

GEJ was no even competent enough to be a local govt chairman. . not to mention President. So, clearly, he was NO LEADER for Africa. The clown didn't even know about the Morocco scandal until Wole Soyinka told him. The clown had to go begging Chad and Niger to fight Boko Haram for him.

Together with Jacob Zuma, they were a pathetic duo (In stark contrast to the AFRICAN LEADERSHIP of the Obj-Mbeki duo)

Though he didn't have to make it obvious, what he said is true, Most Nigerians are happy the incumbent got defeated, it's not about him, it's about the future and welfare of Nigerians. I do not think there is need to overblow the issue anyway, we have to move on and work together to rebuild a badly managed nation.

No matter what one must commend OBJ's tenacity in saying the truth and daring the consequences once he holds unto an ideal. Very few leaders in the world would come out and say they made a mistake in their imposition of a ruler(though fostered too by circumstances), and would go the full hog to reverse that mistake. At a point in time before the elections one could perceive that for OBJ ensuring that GEJ does not return to totally wreck Nigeria, was one battle he was ready to give his life for. I think OBJ was one of those who used his vast international influence to ensure that the major foreign powers openly spoke out,warning GEJ of dire consequences of derailing the process leading to the elections and interfering with the outcome once his loss was all but confirmed. Baba well done. U are indeed a true statesman.

doctokwus: No matter what one must commend OBJ's tenacity in saying the truth and daring the consequences once he holds unto an ideal. Very few leaders in the world would come out and say they made a mistake in their imposition of a ruler(though fostered too by circumstances), and would go the full hog to reverse that mistake. At a point in time before the elections one could perceive that for OBJ ensuring that GEJ does not return to totally wreak Nigeria, was one battle he was ready to give his life for. I think OBJ was one of those who used his vast international influence to ensure that the major foreign powers openly spoke out,warning GEJ of dire consequences of derailing the process leading to the elections and interfering with the outcome once his loss was all but confirmed. Baba well done. U are indeed a true statesman.

A true statesman that wasted billions of dollars on power and kept hundreds of Nigeria's millions for supposed "safe-keeping".You are a clown.

Btw, elections have come and gone.OBJ according to his fans have won.It's buhari and OBJ's time now to give Nigerians the change that GEJ couldn't give them.Time melts away every form of propaganda and grandiose delusion.I wish them luck.

Obasanjo should be ashamed of himself. He thought Jonathan belongs to the same Gambari Born-To-Rule School of thought. He was shamed Just like Christ died on the cross and shamed the devil, OBJ was equally shamed